Ampoule opener



July 11, 1950 M. E. SCOTT AMPOULE OPENER Filed Nov. 21, 1947 IINVENTOR. 'E SCOTT N w R A M ATTOR NEY Patented July 11 1950 UNITED "sTArgs I r T-ENT OFF-ICE t -.:2,515,020 AMPOULE OPENER Marion -E.- Scott, Vancouver;v .Wash. Application November 21, 194 7,Serial' No.'787f,465

4; Claims.

. 1 I *Thisinvention-is of a cutter for openin ampoules, thoseglass accessories ofmodern medicine wherein is hermetically sealed a fixed amount of .-,:9Li'dm1g, medicine, distilledwater, or other liquid used in the practice of medicine. I

The advantages of the ampoule need not be touched upon, but heretofore a considerable waste ,has'been occasioned by their breakage in opening,

with fine particles of glass contaminating the contents and often witha loss of a part of the contents, which renders the original careful meas- ,.urement .useless.

" ,The objects of the present invention are a cutter that can cut the neck of the ampoule where the handler wants it cut, faster than heretofore, with maximum security of the contents against loss or contamination.

Another object is to produce a cutter with a crystal of bort as the actual cutting implement, the bort being so mounted that it cannot ride the neck of the ampoule hard enough to cut its way through the thin glass, but rides under the influence of a soft spring that engages the sharp point of the angular bort with the glass to be cut, with predetermined force.

Another object is to produce a cutter that will scribe a line accuratel around the neck of an ampoule and join the ends of the scribed line, as this preliminary result makes it practically certain that no glass particles will be dislodged when the neck is separated after the out.

Another object is to provide an improved parting device, on the cutter, that permits the user to accurately apply the minute stress necessary to separate the two parts of the neck of the ampoule after cutting, which also contributes to the safety of the contents.

A drawing showing a preferred form of the cutter of the invention accompanies and forms a part hereof, wherein the best arrangement I have been able to make so far is illustrated; which arrangement is described in detail in the specification as required, not as limiting the invention to the structure shown, but to form a basis for the claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is an elevation showing my new cutter as at present constructed, the working parts being concealed save the finger plunger, which will be explained:

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragment of the upper central part of the structure shown in Fig. 1, the fragment being itself broken away to show the interior of the plunger arrangement;

Fig. 3 shows the same structure illustrated in 55 (Cl.'.49-+,-52) z a Fig. 2--asto the sectioned-part thereof,- to illus- +trate the action of the cutter-when being-"used as in-Fig.4; i

Fig. 4- illustrates the two hand operation of'the 5 cutter on-an-ampoulethe neck of which isbeing cut; and i -Fig. 5 shows the proper way to remove'the 'scribed topnf the ampoule neck from the lower .partto make the contents available.

Describing the several-parts of the cutter shown in -greater"detail: Numeral 9 is abody, preferably made as a disc as" shown and aluminum is an excellent :material from which to make it. "The body 9 is provided with a central-opening 'l, shown to be triangular, but that is not a rigid requirement. This opening can well be tapered as shown in Fig. 2; but this also is a matter of design.

The active cutter is a bort tipped, spring backed plunger 6, that is slidable freely within the tube 4, being prevented from falling out by the reduced bore 4A of the tube 4.

The hand operated plunger I, has a shoulder 8, that bears against the spring 3 and also serves, when it has been depressed sufficiently, to put the requisite strength in the spring 5; and further movement makes the tube 4, compress its supporting spring 5, and travel, with the plunger 6, to engage the neck of an ampoule II, that has been inserted Within the opening I. The plunger I, will have sufficient travel to bring the bort tipped cutter 6, into contact with the neck of the smallest ampoule likely to be encountered and the opening 1, will be such that even the largest ampoule, say of 5 cc. size, can be out where it appears to be desirable. This arrangement limits the pressure of the cutter against the ampoule neck,

to that imposed by the sprin 5, even when the tube 4, by its lower end also rests against the ampoule. This feature, just described, is regarded as important for satisfactory results.

The opening I, can be circular instead of triangular but if so it will be better if made with a groove or notch for aligning the ampoule, which is the purpose of the angular apex directly opposite the cutter 6.

When the ampoule has been turned a full revolution against the cutter point 4A, the top will not fall off, nor is that desirable, but the user will remove the neck from the central opening I and place it in one of the breaker holes II], that most nearly brings about the position in Fig. 2, and, holding the ampoule vertical, a slight tipping motion of the body '9 will remove the tip of the ampoule neatly and without danger to the it, what I claim as new and desire to secure Letters Patent is:

1. An ampoule cutter comprising a body, ;a median opening through said body, a plunger slidably mounted in said body normal to :the said opening to act against an ampoule neck inserted cutter portion, the said plunger manually dpressible to bring the cutter into cutting contact with an ampoule neck inserted within said opening with a pressure limited by thestrength of the saidcoiiiprssion spring scribe the ampouleiipon relative rotation of the body.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 and including a. spring means idr ficrmany retracting the plunger clear or thexsaid median opening.

4. An ampoule cutter comprising an ampoule holding means, a spring supported manually depressible plunger, mounted in cooperative relationship with said holding means, and a bort tipped cutter member, telescopically mounted within said plunger, characterized by a spring positioned behind the said cutter portion in such therethrough, by manual depression of said plunger, a compression spring positioned beneath said plunger to bias it to inoperative position, said plunger provided with an axial receptacle, a glass cutter portion of said plunger, said glass cutter portion slidable in said plunger receptacle and a spring backing for said cutter to limit its pressure against a glass ampoule to that afforded by the strength of the said spring.

, 2. An ampoule cutter comprisin a body provided with a median ampoule neck opening therethrough, said opening provided with an aligning groove, a plunger slidably mounted in said body normal to the axis of said opening-said plunger having a separate glass cutter portion, slidable within a, receptacle provided in said plunger, a

compression spring between said plunger and said manner that the pressure that can be transmitted through the said plunger to the said cutter is limited by the strength of the said last named spring.

MARION E. SCQTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,447,988 Pierson Aug. 24, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,653 Germany Nov. 8, 1883 33,821

France Mar. 25, 1929 

